Machu Picchu

In Machu Picchu Sharma uses vibrant colors and an abstract approach to depict a future where this ancient citadel thrives rather than degrades. Sharma chose Machu Picchu, because its arresting landscape is familiar to nature and non-nature lovers alike, creating an entry point for conversations around climate change. On the left, the ancient village juxtaposed with Sharma’s modernist aesthetic creates a subtle conflict for the viewer–a tension between what is and what once was.

The gradient landscape of earth-colored fields and pastures lends a terrestrial quality to the painting that, in contrast to the intensity of the sky – which warns of society’s inaction in the face of global warming – presents the viewer with the dueling realities of a beautiful landscape and the shrinking time we have to save it.

Machu Picchu
Acrylic and methane monooxygenase on canvas
Dimensions: 60 inch x 48 inch